Did all of you see Nathan Bransford's 2011 e-book poll last November? Since 2007, he's been taking informal polls on where his readers stand regarding e-books. While he has a disclaimer stating it isn't scientific and it's for entertainment purposes only, I still find it super interesting. Check it out and peek at the bar graphs for each year. I've voted multiple years, and not always the same way. It took me a while to get excited about e-readers, but eventually I wanted one. My family gave me a Nook, and I love it. Love it, love it, love it!
That said, I see a negative side to all this technology at our fingertips. Now that I can check e-mail from my phone, I find I do it even when I'm not expecting anything important. I can, therefore I do.
I remember fondly the days when kids drew posters for reports instead of doing PowerPoint presentations. That said, I want my kids up on the latest and greatest technologies for work and play. I want them to stay comfortable and confident in today's world as well as tomorrow's. But I also see missed opportunities where imagination could have been exercised, small motor skills could have been practiced, and human interaction could have been experienced.
While I embrace the e-book, my laptop, the Internet (Blogging! Book research! E-mail! So much great stuff!), and the Starbucks locator on my cell, I sometimes wonder if today's kids are getting the raw end of the deal. I wonder what we're doing to our attention spans, our inner quiet, and sometimes even our creativity. Are we moving forward or backward?
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Ann Droyd's GOODNIGHT IPAD: A PARODY FOR THE NEXT GENERATION is pretty dang clever. Have you read it?
I won't be posting next weekend because my family has tons of stuff on the calendar, but I'll be back the following weekend. Happy writing to all of you!
Happy New Year, bloggy friends! Is everyone's 2012 off to a good start? I hope so!
At the very end of 2011, I went snowshoeing with my family, and--WHAM! A new book idea hit me! I'm thrilled to have a new love again!
(Please note: objects in puffy, red coats are smaller than they appear.)
Right after I thought of my "novel novel" idea, I could feel two or three of the characters and the voice. That's when I know I'm on the right path, that I'm focusing on the right story. You know how it is when lines of dialogue and story pieces start materializing, and you can't wait to get the ideas and words on paper? It's that story crush period when the beauty of the idea is so bright and it's all so new that you can't yet see the imperfections and plot holes. You know they're there, though, because nothing is perfect--yet the love of the story will make you stick around and work things out.
I think we have chemistry with certain stories. If we're writers, the chemistry will help us find our voices and ignite us with a passion to get the words on the page. I'm not saying it's easy; it's work. But something makes that story alive in us.
In the same vein, while agents and editors sort through oodles of submissions, only certain manuscripts have a special spark and make them fall in love. The same goes for all of us as readers. One person might love a story while that same story falls flat for someone else. It's like chemistry in relationships: just because he's cute and your best friend thinks he's right for you, it totally doesn' t mean he's zing-worthy.
Oh! Now I feel like sharing a video featuring the mad scientist Dr. Doofenshmirtz of Phineas and Ferb, a super clever TV show I adore. Click here if you'd like to watch it. The clip shows villains in love, singing and dancing--evil people with their own weird chemistry.
Much different from Dr. Doofenshmirtz and his gal, here's a pic of my dad and mom, two amazing people with kind hearts and beautiful chemistry!
I guess in love and manuscripts, the right chemistry is required.
SCBWI Western Washington has an annual cookie competition, and this year's event took place Tuesday night. I baked some cookies and won first runner-up! And there were prizes! I won an Olympics-style cookie ribbon and a gift card to a bookstore!
The grand prize went to uber-baker Chadwick Gillenwater. Lida Enche won "Most Creative" for her Sidewalk Crack Cookies. Check out her blog to see how amazing her cookies were. Seriously, go now. I'll wait.
Weren't they amazing?! I brought one home so I could show my family! Such beautiful cookies!
I baked Chocolate Dipped Toffee Bits Cookies.
You can find the recipe here. I would like to note that while I'm aware the apostrophe in Heath Bits 'o Brickle Toffee Bits is in the wrong place, I am not responsible for the gross misuse of punctuation. Tee-hee!
The cookie fun was just one part of our meeting. During the mini-session, Liz Mills interviewed a few librarians who work in schools or with teens. My favorite parts were when they spoke about what they would like to see more of and when they gave hints for author visits.
Authors Heather Davis and Liz Gallagher did a presentation, "How to Start a Fire: Inspiration Now, Inspiration Later," during our main session. I loved it! It was so helpful for where I am right now, rewriting one book and playing with a shiny, new idea for another. What made their talk extra special, in my opinion, was the fact that they work differently from one another; it exemplified how there isn't one "right" way.
At the meeting, Joni Sensel and Laurie Thompson officially passed the co-regional advisor torch to Jaime Temairik and Kimberly Baker. All four of these ladies are incredible, and I am sooo thankful for all they do.
Enjoy the holidays! I'll see you all in 2012!
'Tis the season of gifties, and a book is the perfect gift, yes? As writers and/or illustrators, I'm sure you agree. Think of the message you could be sending by giving someone special in your life a book! Some examples:
1. I'm thinking of you.
2. You're my friend.
3. I don't care if all the other mothers are allowing their children's brains to rot by letting them have endless screen time. I want more for you. Here's something really special! (Though a wee bit of Call of Duty: MW3 never hurt anyone. Not that I'm addicted. *ahem*)
I once again asked Victoria the bookseller to share the names of YA and children's titles that have been selling well at Eagle Harbor Book Company, a fabulous indie here in Western Washington. She went through the stats and told me the top fifteen YA and children's titles from last week.
Are you ready? Here's the list!
THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins
INHERITANCE by Christopher Paolini
Diary of a Wimpy Kid #6: CABIN FEVER by Jeff Kinney
WILDWOOD by Colin Meloy, illustrations by Carson Ellis (Fun to note: Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis are married, and Colin Meloy is the singer and songwriter for the band the Decemberists.)
THE LEGO IDEAS BOOK - DK Publishing
ERAGON by Christopher Paolini
THE THREE LITTLE ALIENS AND THE BIG BAD ROBOT by Margaret McNamara, illustrated by Mark Fearing
THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS (with DVD) illustrated by Jan Brett
OTIS AND THE TORNADO by Loren Long
THE INVENTION OF HUGE CABRET by Brian Selznick
SCORPIO RACES by Maggie Stiefvater
GRANDFATHER TWILIGHT by Barbara Berger
SHIP BREAKER by Paolo Bacigalupi
MOCKINGJAY by Suzanne Collins
WONDERSTRUCK by Brian Selznick
Victoria told me YA is always strong this time of year, which I thought was interesting. Also, Christopher Paolini recently participated in a WEST SOUND READS! event, and Victoria said the bookstore is still feeling the Paolini Effect. The Guinness Book of World Records is another book that's doing very well. It's usually bought by kids and for kids, but it's not on this list because it isn't specifically a kids' book.
I'd like to thank Victoria for taking the time for this. I personally think someone should create a Victoria the Bookseller action figure that smiles, makes people feel welcome, and jumps tall stacks of books in a single bound. :)
Are you planning on giving any books as gifts this month? What books do you have on your wish list? What are you reading now?
As always, I did the drawing for my book giveaway old school, putting slips of paper with the names of the entries in a bowl. My daughter drew the winner for us.
Congratulations, Rebecca (RivkaBelle)! Please email me with your address so I can get your copy of AUDITION in the mail right away! Thanks to everyone who entered my contest. I wish I had a book for each of you.
Since AUDITION is a verse novel, I thought I'd link to a poem I posted the month I started blogging. It's quite steamy. Tee-hee!
So! Poetry! How many of you write it?
I'm pleased to share an interview with my friend Stasia, one of the first people I met through SCBWI Western Washington. As I told Stasia, I feel like I'm one of her debut novel's adoring aunties. Between sessions at the 2010 SCBWI Winter Conference in New York, Stasia and I exchanged the first five pages of our manuscripts and read them standing next to a shiny, black piano. Her writing completely impressed me. Her words were gorgeous and poignant, and--written in verse--amazingly concise. Soon after that, she asked if I would be a beta reader. I read her full and knew her manuscript deserved to be a book. I wrote about it here. When AUDITION came out and I saw the opening lines printed on the pages of a real book, it brought me back to that piano in New York City. It was truly a moving experience. Stasia's success should inspire us all; it exemplifies how talent and hard work pay off.
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Stasia grew up dancing and performing on stages from New Hampshire to Washington, D.C. She now writes books for young adults and choreographs the occasional musical. She is represented by Catherine Drayton of InkWell Management.
AUDITION(Viking/Penguin, October 13, 2011)
Here's the blurb:
It all started with the audition . . .
When Sara is offered a scholarship with the prestigious Jersey Ballet, there's no way she can turn down the opportunity of a lifetime. But to take it, she must leave her family and friends for a strange city. Suddenly, she's thrust into a life of endless ballet class and rehearsal, of juggling schoolwork with hours in the studio, of constantly being critiqued, corrected, and judged.
Overwhelmed and lonely, Sara connects with Remington, a brilliant up-and-coming choreographer. Though he's too old for her, sparking scandal at the studio, Sara is thrilled to become Rem's muse. But as the secrets pile up and Rem's innovative dances start to attract wider attention, Sara wonders whose dreams she's making come true.
Debut author Stasia Ward Kehoe spins an intense and romantic page-turner about the deeply flawed yet irresistible world of ballet.
Dawn: How did you decide to write AUDITION in verse? It was such a brilliant idea!
Stasia: I didn't decide to write AUDITION in verse so much as find my way to the form. The novel started as a monologue for a playwriting class. I wrote about a young dancer getting dressed for an audition. I felt connected to the character, so I started trying to feature her in a prose novel. It was all right, but I felt the novel didn't have the spark I really wanted. Then, I found myself in a verse novel writing workshop with Ellen Hopkins and I was on my way.
Dawn: What are a few ways your performing arts skills enhance your writing? I'm not referring to the subject matter and authenticating details of AUDITION, but I'm asking in a more general sense.
Stasia: First of all, I consider myself a craftsperson, not an artist. Just like in dance, I believe you need to flex the writing muscle pretty much every day to get to where you want to be. As a verse novelist, I find myself paying attention to the cadence and forms of the poetry. I think very structurally, very choreographically. I think that comes from my dance background. And for me, stories definitely begin with character. I say their "lines" out loud, try to feel what they feel, do a bit of "method acting" to get at their motivations.
Dawn: Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?
Stasia: Be as honest as you can in your writing. Never shy away from what you believe your characters need to say or do. Then, when you feel you're as close to the bone as you can get . . . go closer. If your writing doesn't make you shiver or cry, you cannot expect your reader to do so. Even if you're writing light, funny, or surreal, it has to also feel true.
Also, while it's great to take advice, guidance, and feedback, the best story you can write is the one that only you can tell. That's the cool, crazy, amazing thing about being a writer. So, even when you're making editorial changes, be certain that you are also holding on to your own story, your characters. That way, you don't run the risk of diluting things as your work evolves from desktop manuscript to published work (you CAN get there!).
Dawn: Thank you for taking the time for this interview, Stasia! I wish you continued success!
Places you can find Stasia on the Internet:
http://www.stasiawardkehoe.com/
Writer on the Side
A Year of Auditions
Stages on Pages
The Bookanistas
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Now it's time for the giveaway! I have a copy of AUDITION to send to one lucky follower. To enter the contest, all you have to do is:
1. leave a comment on this post before 11:59 p.m. PST on Friday, December 2, 2011
2. be a follower of this blog
3. have a mailing address in the U.S. or Canada (Sorry I have to set limits. I wish I could include everyone!)
Each person can enter only once.
Good luck, and thank you for following my blog! :)
Each person is the protagonist in his or her own life. This is true whether someone is a writer, an architect, a fast food restaurant employee, a doctor, a student, a dancer, or a funeral director. And while I'm stating the obvious, each life has oodles of stories that can be told about it. The first day of school might be a picture book story. The same is true for the second grade spelling bee--even if you lose because you overthink an answer and wind up sobbing, and the happy ending comes when your mom buys you a trophy to let you know you're always a winner in her eyes.
(Thanks, Mom!)
If you dissect one person's life, think of the stories that may be told. If I were to imagine my current aspiring author-self as the protagonist in a book or film, the big tear-jerking moment at the end would be the agent call that lets me know about my first book deal. (The part of the agent has yet to be cast, but those who qualify may audition.) Another story could cover the next books (!), my time in rehab for Frappuccino addiction (I hope not!), how I handle being a New York Times bestselling author (Dream big, bloggy friends!), or how I die an old woman hunched over the keyboard, unpublished but working until the very end to change that (genre: horror).
Let's focus on the story about the journey from "aspiring author" to "author." It is a journey. At the beginning, we have no idea how little we know. The map in our hands, we soon realize, has folds that stick together, hiding miles of terrain. Also, the section marked as hilly is actually a ginormous mountain range dotted with lava pits (failure), soul-sucking spiders (self-doubt), and little pygmy goats that distract us with their cuteness (everything in life that might be easier to obtain). But aren't journey stories with lava pits, soul-sucking spiders, and pygmy goats the most rewarding in the end? (Note to self: add lava pits, soul-sucking spiders, and pygmy goats to work-in-progress.)
Don't get me wrong: as much as I like conflict in stories, I don't want it in my real life. I want to be published as soon as I possibly can. If I could have debuted yesterday, I would have. But with hindsight, I'm glad I didn't debut, say, five years ago. While I felt ready and craved a book deal a bajillion times more than I thirsted for any caffeinated drink with a green straw, I've learned so much since then. I've grown as a writer and as a person. I'm now farther along on my journey, and I'm more prepared.
As the protagonist in my own life, I can't wait for the climax! I am on the edge of my seat! But really, I can wait. I have to. Besides, you shouldn't rush a good story.
Question: if you could peek at the end of the current book you're starring in to learn the date of the next big moment in your writing journey, would you?
*Note: next week I'll post an interview with author Stasia Ward Kehoe! I will be giving away a copy of AUDITION, her debut YA novel!
Happy Thanksgiving!
